Everyday Activist - Tinghir-Jerusalem: Echoes from the Mellah

Posted on Monday, March 21, 2016 at 11:00 PM

Tinghir-Jerusalem: Echoes from the Mellah

Movie Review by Everyday Activist X CalgaryMovies.com

I listened to Dr. Robert Thirsk speak about his experiences in space and one of his wishes was that everyone could see the earth from that vantage point, because no one would see boundaries or borders on our fragile blue planet. Even on the International Space Station, all the countries involved worked together towards a common goal. So why is this so hard to do on Earth? TINGHIR-JERUSALEM is one of the two movies to be screening at the Jewish Communities in the Arab World event, scheduled on March 24th, 2016, which talks about people together living peacefully until politics creates division and uses religion to reinforce its agenda with little regard for the people it affects.

If you had the opportunity to watch Censored Voices at the Calgary International Film Festival or if you a good understanding of the historical roots Israeli Palestine conflict you will understand the consequences of events this film touches. Basically, when Israel won the war in the 1960s, they needed Jewish people to hold their territory. They began issuing people “one way passports” out of their respective countries to come to Israel. Before this film, I had never even heard of such a thing. People left EVERYTHING they had built, their homes, their friends and many of their belongings to go to Israel to live in a tent. Then on top of all this, because they were from Morocco versus Europe they were further treated as second class citizens.

The film maker’s diverse cultural background growing up in France and visiting Tinghir throughout his childhood gave his story a unique perspective as he seeks out to understand why people had left and how the community felt about it when the exodus happened. Fortunately he had lots of help allowing him to investigate the events in his ancestral home without heavy handed judgment on the politics of it all. He was more interested in the personal stories from a multi-generational point of view by interviewing school children as well as the elderly than political agendas. The people he met welcomed him as they told him their stories and in some cases still spoke the local dialect. Towards the end of the film, when he went looking for a particular resident he met another fascinating lady who had nothing against Muslims; in fact she wanted everyone to get along as they had in Tinghir. Great message to end the documentary.

TINGHIR-JERUSALEM, ECHOES FROM THE MELLAH will play at Festival Hall in Inglewood (1215 10 Ave SE), Thursday March 24th at 9:15 pm as part of the 2016 Calgary Arab Film Nights Festival's Jewish Communities in the Arab World Documentary Night. Tickets are $30 and include a screening of JEWS OF EGYPT: THE END OF A JOURNEY at 6:30 pm, food and discussions with the directors.

Calgary Showtimes: Jews of Egypt: The End of a Journey > | Tinghir-Jerusalem, Echoes from the Mellah >